Posted on 06/17/2013 8:32:02 PM PDT by TigerLikesRooster
N.Korean Army Chief Fingered in Syria Connection
The North Korean military is involved in the Syrian civil war at the initiative of hardline Army chief Gen. Kim Kyok-sik, the Dagongbao daily in Hong Kong speculated Monday.
Kim was allegedly behind the sinking of the South Korean Navy corvette Cheonan and shelling of Yeonpyeong Island in 2010. He is considered one of the key figures in the North Korean regime and was recently promoted from armed forces minister to the chief of the Army's General Staff.
Some dozen North Korean military officers were seen working with Syrian government troops on the northern battlefield of Halab, according to a group called Syrian Observatory for Human Rights.
Information about the reality in strife-torn Syria is notoriously hard to verify, and this piece of news comes from a London-based pan-Arabic newspaper owned by a Saudi prince.
Saudi Arabia is arming the Sunni jihadist opposition to the Assad regime because Syria is a buffer state under the influence of its mortal foe Iran.
A man whose organization monitors developments on the ground has told the prince's Asharq Al-Awsat daily that the North Koreans are acting as advisers to Syrian government forces.
This handout picture from the Syrian Arab News Agency shows two military attaches from the North Korean Embassy in Syria during a visit to the Tishreen Military Hospital in Damascus on March 6, 2012. This handout picture from the Syrian Arab News Agency shows two military attaches from the North Korean Embassy in Syria during a visit to the Tishreen Military Hospital in Damascus on March 6, 2012.
Dagongbao pointed to Kim Kyok-sik as a likely link that would lend credence to the story, since he worked as an assistant military attache at the North Korean Embassy in Damascus in the 1970s and led North Korean and Syrian troops in joint operations for about 10 years.
Kim returned to the North around April 1982.
In Syria, he was in charge of military training and delivery of North Korean weapons.
During the fourth Middle East War in 1973, the North supported Syria's attacks on Israel. Kim is believed to have played an important role in the process. During the Syria-Lebanon War in 1982, the North also sent troops to the frontline to help Syrian troops advance into Lebanon, the daily added.
The North Korea-Syria military connection is also suspected of a crucial role in developing conventional and nuclear weapons. A nuclear facility Syria was building in the desert in the mid-2000s, allegedly with North Korean help, was destroyed by Israeli fighters in 2007.
Active support: Russia, North Korea, Iran
Neutral: U.S., Israel
Hostile: Sunni Muslim terrorists and their state sponsors
Considering that Syria has been the arch nemesis of U.S and Israel until recently, this is a strange development.
I suppose U.S. and Israel want Syrian regime to hang on, albeit severely weakened, because the alternative is even worse.
N. Korea really gets around. While they face host of political and military challenges in E. Asia, due mostly to China’s change of heart(for the time being,) they still continue their foreign adventures. N. Korea is at the forefront of WOT in Syria. LOL.
P!
Syria is a sponsor of terrorism. They have a history of it.
Not the best headline.. lol
As we all remember, Kim sent nearly deployable missiles in that reflagged ship to Tartus in 2007.
He lost a lot of his scientists (a lot of Russian scientists, too) in the attempted mounting of chemical warheads onto missiles in June or July right before the Sept destruction of the nuke plant.
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Pretty amazing that our “leaders” are so openly siding with terrorists
It’s a choice between Bin Laden and Assad. Some experts think that Assad is more controllable.
?
BS. The "Do nothing" approach has allowed Al Qaeda to fill the void. They are no more in control of the Syrian opposition as they were in Libya, but there mere presence causes many to lose their powers of critical thinking as they can simply start running their sucks about how the President is siding with Al Qaeda.
It would be laughable if it weren't demonstrative of the abject ignorance and stupidity which passes for informed discussion around here.
Really, just like Egypt. Since Egypt is now a lovable and pluralistic democracy we can be certain that Syria will be the same way!
the right parentheses.
Sorry. reply to wrong person. My apologies.
Syrian opposition is getting arms from somewhere. Would they get enough from raiding government troop’s armory? Sunnis Muslim brotherhood will be in charge whether they have in full control of opposition now or not. I doubt that the void can be filled by some secular opposition strong enough to withstand Muslim Brotherhood, unless the daddy Assad exterminated all Muslim Brotherhood in Hama, Syria back in 80’s. If there is an alternative other than Muslim Brotherhood, it could be another secular strongman. I don’t know about you, but to me, secular political forces in Muslim country is pretty shaky. Even when people realized what they did and rise up against regime they help to install, the regime is entrenched and very difficult to dislodge without another bloody revolution in Muslim country. Religion inspires die-hard passion in those countries.
Sound familiar?
Meanwhile, Egypt hasn't gone to war with Israel, and hasn't become Al Qaeda central, so, yes, it would be nice if Syria turned out the same way.
Syria Ping
Doing nothing on the pretext that doing something will assist Al Qaeda merely allows Al Qaeda to expand their influence, something which they have been doing in Syria in the absence of any other party willing to intervene.
Afghanistan, 1990's. What have we learned? Nothing?
Muslim Brotherhood has a deep root in Syria as in Egypt. I don't want Syria to be a playground of Muslim Brotherhood any more than you do. There are parties helping Assad now, as I have described before. Would Israel sit by and let Assad fall? I doubt it. They could help Assad in some way. Allowing them to help Assad enough to grind down Muslim Brotherhood seems to be one way to do it. If ruling secular military regime starts to show cracks, it would be impossible not to expect Muslim Brotherhood to raise its head. It would happen whether we intervene or not.
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